Steamboat Child Care Center

CONTACT INFORMATION

Email: childcaresbt@steamboat.com
Phone: 970-871-5006
WE ARE NOT A DROP-IN CENTER

Hours

Monday - Friday
7:30am - 5:30pm (Toddlers/Preschoolers)
8:00am - 5:00pm (Infants 3 - 18mo)

Directions
3001 S Lincoln Ave
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

The Steamboat Child Care Center is pleased to offer a nature-based preschool focusing on outdoor play, environmental education, and a love of the outdoor mountain lifestyle. Our infant and toddler programs focus on relationship-based care where children stay with the same caregiver for up to 3 years.

Our center is licensed for year-round care for children between the ages of 8 weeks - 7 years. Our employer-based facility prioritizes team members of Steamboat Ski Resort, but we will offer spots to community members if space is available. After we meet the needs of employees, we will prioritize families who are already enrolled at the Steamboat Child Care Center. It is our intention, and an essential part of our continuity of care model, to continue to work with all of our current families throughout childhood.

We are glad that we have been able to offer high-quality care for non-employee families since we opened our doors in December 2022. During our first year of operation, about 50% of our families were community members. However, this is the transition we knew was coming… From the beginning the Steamboat Childcare Center has prioritized serving as a benefit for SSRC employees. An increasing number of SSRC parents are taking advantage of this benefit, resulting in community members being placed lower on the priority list for admission. It’s important to note our priority status which places SSRC employees first, followed by current community families who require care five days a week, and then siblings of current families. We understand this shift will impact families that previously had care and we appreciate everyone understanding the childcare center’s mission to prioritize SSRC employees.

Fall 2024 Handbook Addendum

Registration Information

Thank you for your interest in the Steamboat Child Care Center. Our infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms are full. Our waitlists are closed.

Our next open enrollment period will be our spring open enrollment from March 24-31, 2025 for care beginning in June 2025. Our waitlist will reopen during our spring open enrollment. Please see info below for more information about our UPK program and instructions about how to register.

Registration Process

In order to register your child at the Steamboat Child Care Center, you will need to create an account on Brightwheel. If you already have an account with Brightwheel and you are having trouble, here are some tips.

Universal Preschool
(for PreK students)
The state of Colorado is offering free Universal Preschool for children who are 4 years old on October 1, 2024. The state will cover 15 hours of tuition each week. If your child will be 4 years old on October 1, 2024, and you would like to join our UPK program that begins September 3, 2024, please complete the following steps:

Register on Colorado's UPK Site. Be sure to choose "Steamboat Child Care Center" as your preferred provider.
New families can register using this Preschool/PreK registration link: https://schools.mybrightwheel.com/sign-in?redirect_path=forms/abde9c92-2832-49e6-8e0e-5892e4ff6d4f/self-service
Email us at childcaresbt@steamboat.com to confirm that you have registered in the system. We will need to 'accept' you into the program.
After we have accepted you into our PreK program, you will receive an email confirmation from childcaresbt@steamboat.com and the forms to complete in Brightwheel. Please complete all enrollment forms in Brightwheel and bring in a copy of your child’s vaccinations and a health appraisal on or before their first day. Please note that children participating in the UPK program do NOT need to pay a registration fee or waitlist fee.

Program Details

Preschool Classroom
Children must be at least 2.5 years (but not eligible for PreK) and fully potty-trained to be considered for the preschool classroom.

Infant & Toddler Classroom

The Steamboat Child Care Center uses a primary caregiving approach, where a small group of children are assigned to a primary caregiver/teacher. Whenever possible, the primary caregiver stays with their primary care group throughout the children’s time in the infant room; the primary caregiver will move with their group into the toddler room. This continuity of care model allows a child to have a strong bond with a teacher and group of students for up to 3 years. A child usually stays with their primary caregivers until they transition to the preschool classroom. However, we also consider the individual developmental needs of each child in order to determine when they will move up to the next classroom.

WAITLIST

The procedure to get on our waitlist is as follows:

Register via Brightwheel during one of our open enrollment periods.
Complete the waitlist agreement.
Pay the nonrefundable $100 waitlist fee*.

*Once the open enrollment period has concluded and registration applications have been reviewed, you will be contacted by the Steamboat Child Care Center to complete and pay the waitlist agreement. Only infants and toddlers on the waitlist will be considered for care.

Gapless Enrollment

The Steamboat Child Care Center offers infant, toddler, and preschool families a choice of 4 set schedules from which they can choose. PreK families can choose from a 5 day/week schedule or 4 day/week schedule. We will do our best to accommodate a family’s first choice but cannot guarantee it.

Classroom	Schedule Options
Infant, Toddler, Preschool	Option 1: 5 days/week, M-F Option 2: 4 days/week Mon-Thurs Option 3: 3 days/week, M, W, F Option 4: 2 days a week, Tu, Th
PreK school year (September-June)	Option 1: 5 days/week, M-F Option 2: 4 days/week Mon-Thurs

Daily Rates

Effective 11/5/2024
SSRC Employees Community Members Hours (MON - FRI)
Infants (3 - 18 months) $72 $90 8:00am - 5:00pm
Toddlers (12 months and walking - 36 months) $72 $90 7:30am - 5:30pm
Preschoolers (2.5 - 5 yrs) $68 $85 7:30am - 5:30pm
PreK (4 years old on 10/1/24) $68** $85** 7:30am - 5:30pm
** Children who are participating in the state’s UPK program receive a tuition subsidy from the state of Colorado. SSRC employees receive both the state’s tuition subsidy and our SSRC employee tuition discount.

	SSRC Employees	Community Members	Hours (MON - FRI)
Infants (3 - 18 months)	$72	$90	8:00am - 5:00pm
Toddlers (12 months and walking - 36 months)	$72	$90	7:30am - 5:30pm
Preschoolers (2.5 - 5 yrs)	$68	$85	7:30am - 5:30pm
PreK (4 years old on 10/1/24)	$68**	$85**	7:30am - 5:30pm

Awards & Recognitions

The Steamboat Child Care Center is happy to announce that we have been rated Level 4 out of 5 by Colorado Shines, the state’s quality rating and improvement system for early care and learning programs. We are committed to providing a high-quality learning environment that supports children’s development and gives them a strong start on the path to lifelong success. Our Colorado Shines rating is one way that the Steamboat Child Care Center demonstrates our commitment to quality and continually improving the services we offer. Learn more about Colorado Shines and its rating process HERE.

In October, we were also awarded the Early Childhood Champion by EPIC (Executives Partnering to Invest in Children). EPIC’s Early Childhood Champion Award honors businesses for their innovation, leadership and investment in strategies that support the needs of working families, including childhood advocacy, and supporting access to quality early childhood care and education.